袋鼬目Dasyuromorphia, 來自希臘語 δασύς （dasús,"多毛、蓬鬆、濃密"）、 οὐρά（ourá,"尾巴"）和 μορφή （morphē,"形態、形狀、外觀"）,意思是 "多毛的尾巴",指的是這些動物一般都有長而毛茸茸的尾巴.

Dasyuromorphia, from the Greek δασύς (dasús, “hairy, shaggy, dense”), οὐρά (ourá, “tail”) and μορφή (morphē “form, shape, appearance”), means “hairy tail”, in reference to the fact that these animals, in general, have long and furry tails.

種的俗名 Common names of members

有袋老鼠、袋鼬、袋食蟻獸、塔斯馬尼亞魔鬼（袋獾）和塔斯馬尼亞虎（袋狼）（近期滅絕,於1930年代）.

Marsupial mice, quolls, numbats, Tasmanian devils, and Tasmanian tigers (recently extinct, in the 1930’s).

分布 Distribution 

澳大利亞、新幾內亞、塔斯馬尼亞和附近的一些小島.

Australia, New Guinea, Tasmania, and some small nearby islands.

體型 Size

牠們的體型大小不一,從有袋老鼠（5 克）到袋食蟻獸（500 克）和塔斯馬尼亞虎（35 公斤）.

Their size varies from marsupial mice (5 g) to numbats (500 g) and Tasmanian tigers (35 kg).

形態描述 Morphology

牠們頭尖、耳小、長尾巴和中短腿的毛相當整齊.除袋食蟻獸外,牠們都有一個腮囊（marsupium）.

塔斯馬尼亞虎是一種類似狼的動物,具有犬科動物般的長四肢和趾行姿勢.

They have a pointed head, small ears and fairly well-furred long tails, as short to medium-length legs. All of them, but numbats, have a marsupium, the pouch.

Tasmanian tigers were wolf-like animals and had long, canid-like limbs with digitigrade posture.

生態及棲息地 Ecology & Habitat

較為開闊和乾旱的環境（硬葉林、乾旱灌木林地、草地）.對於喜歡封閉環境的特定物種（濕潤或溫帶闊葉林）,這些地區往往比較潮濕和低溫.

More open and arid environments (sclerophyll, xeric shrublands, grasslands). In the case of specific species that prefer closed environments (moist or temperate broadleaf forests), these tend to be humid and low temperature areas.

食性 Diet

牠們一般以肉食為主,以蟲子（白蟻、甲蟲）、蠕蟲、小型脊椎動物等為食.塔斯馬尼亞虎習慣捕食中小型哺乳動物和不會飛的鳥類.

They have, generally, a carnivorous diet, feeding on bugs (termites, beetles), worms, small vertebrates, etc. Tasmanian tigers used to prey on small-medium size mammals and flightless birds.

繁殖 Reproduction 

牠們是多雄多雌繁殖（雄性和雌性都與多個個體交配）.有些雌鳥能在排卵前將來自不同雄鳥的精子儲存在生殖道內.因此,同一窩的幼崽可能有不同的父親.只有雌性會照顧幼仔.幼體先在袋中成長,然後被抱到隱蔽的洞穴中.

They are polygynandrous (both males and females mate with multiple individuals).

Some females can store sperm from different males within their reproductive tracts before ovulation. Thus, the young in the same litter may have different fathers. Only females take care of the young. The young first grow in the pouch then are carried into well-hidden dens.

已知的物種

Total species known

70

博物館收藏的物種

Species in the collection

3

在香港已知的物種

Species in Hong Kong

0

References 參考文獻

- Pavey, C. R., Burwell, C. J., Körtner, G., Geiser, F. (2018). Trophic ecology of marsupial predators in arid Australia following reshaping of predator assemblages. Journal of Mammalogy, 99(5), 1128–1136. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyy100. 

- Uzqueda, A., Burnett, S., Bertola, L. V., Hoskin, C. J. (2020). Quantifying range decline and remaining populations of the large marsupial carnivore of Australia’s tropical rainforest. Journal of Mammalogy, 101(4), 1021–1034. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyaa077. 

- Westerman, M., Krajewski, C., Kear, B. P., Meehan, L., Meredith, R. W., Emerling, C. A., Springer, M. S. (2016) Phylogenetic relationships of dasyuromorphian marsupials revisited. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 176(3), 686–701. https://doi.org/10.1111/zoj.12323

- Kealy, S., Beck, R. (2017). Total evidence phylogeny and evolutionary timescale for Australian faunivorous marsupials (Dasyuromorphia). BMC Evolutionary Biology, 17, 240. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-017-1090-0. 

- Mitchell, K. J., Pratt, R. C., Watson, L. N., Gibb, G. C., Llamas, B., Kasper, M., Edson, J., Hopwood, B., Male, D., Armstrong, K. N., Meyer, M., Hofreiter, M., Austin, J., Donnellan, S. C., Lee, M. S. Y., Phillips, M. J., Cooper, A. (2014). Molecular Phylogeny, Biogeography, and Habitat Preference Evolution of Marsupials. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 31(9), 2322–2330. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msu176.

- Dickman, C. R. (2018). Biodiversity in Australia: An Overview. In T. Pullaiah (Ed.), Global Biodiversity - Volume 4: Selected Countries in the Americas and Australia. Apple Academic Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1201/9780429433634-12.

- Krajewski, C., Woolley, P. A., Westerman, M. (2000). The evolution of reproductive strategies in dasyurid marsupials: implications of molecular phylogeny. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 71(3), Pages 417–435, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8312.2000.tb01267.x.